HIKVISION BULLET NETWORK SECURITY CAMERA REVIEW

Today we’re going to take you through the HIKVISION Bullet Network Security Camera Review and uncover the goodies within this IP camera.

Investing in a good and reliable security system has not only become a tech trend but a major priority. The HIKVISION DS-2CD2042WD-I security camera is one of the best of its kind and is sure to give you the kind of surveillance your property needs.

HIKVISION BULLET NETWORK SECURITY CAMERA REVIEW – FEATURES

The HIKVISION DS-2CD2042WD-I has been praised by enthusiasts and security camera installers for its high-quality features and performance. Let us look at what exactly has warranted the camera’s good word.

SOLID UNIT

The HIKVISION DS-2CD2042WD-I is a well made and compact camera that is conspicuous perfect for homes and small businesses. It has an IP66 weather protection rating, meaning its completely protected against dust and will withstand the rain.

HARDWARE INSTALLATION

This Mini Bullet camera is very easy to install. All you need is to choose the location for the camera, drill a hole at the center to pass through the network cable and finally mount the base.

It has a thick metal housing and metal mounting base that you will need to screw properly to a wall. There is also a ball-and-socket adjuster that makes it easy to adjust it to the position you need.

IMAGE QUALITY

The HIKVISION DS-2CD2042WD-I’s image quality is exceptionally good.

This IP camera has a 4-megapixel progressive scan CMOS sensor with a fantastic 2688 x 1520 image resolution. This is quite high for a security camera and produces extremely high-quality footage, enough to capture facial features and car number plates.

It comes with a 4mm lens, which gives an 83º angle of view, you can alternatively opt for a 6mm lens, which gives a 55.4º angle of view. The latter will provide a narrower but more zoomed in view. The camera comes with a 3D digital noise reduction to provide high-quality images with less noise under low-light surveillance.

With built-in Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) technology, this mini bullet camera is able to control the exposure and process the light values of every pixel in the image. In other words, any bright spot is toned down preventing the image from being washed out, and dark images augmented to expose the shadowy objects. This ultimately replaces expensive lighting that would otherwise be required for such situations.

Night vision provided by the IR LEDs is crisp and covers a range of up to 98 feet (30 meters).

CONNECTIVITY

Setting up this camera is not an easy task as it takes a lot of technicalities and maneuvers but the firmware will be able to take you through just fine.

After you have mounted the camera, you will need to connect it with an Ethernet cable then change the IP address of the camera to work with your network.

Next, install the included SADP software on your computer, a scan, and search program to automatically find your camera. You can use the camera through operating systems such as any Windows and Mac OS. In addition, you can also download the Hik-Connect app from the app store to your mobile device and create an account.

The Hik-connect app, HIKVISION iVMS-4200 is added locally while HIKVISION iVMS-4500 is added to mobile devices.

MOTION DETECTION, ALERTS, AND STORAGE

The camera can be set to only record when motion is detected in a specific area, meaning you can save space in video storage. When motion is detected, Push alerts are sent through the HIKVISION native apps on iPhone and Android.

The camera has no onboard SD card storage but relies on solid in-camera NVR capabilities.This is one of the best implementations once it’s setup despite lacking good documentation on how to work around it.

Pros

The image quality and field of view are great.

It is compact and has good heavy-duty build.

Once set up, is easy to manage and use.

Push notifications are available via apps.

It integrates with many Synology NAS.

The camera comes with a good price.

Cons

Difficult in software setup.

The camera’s interface can be difficult to understand.

CONCLUSION

From the HIKVISION DS-2CD2042WD-I camera review, we have noted that the firmware has some SL/TLS issues that might need an upgrade on NVR. In addition, the software has some difficulties when setting up. However, the image is in no way compromised as it comes with a 4MP resolution.

With reliable internet access and a compatible operating system, you can access the data from any computer and smartphone.

You can use as many cameras as you would like on the same surveillance network, making it a cost-effective piece of gadget and a solid choice.

Is the HIKVISION DS-2CD2042WD-I camera something you would consider purchasing for your property?

We trust that our HIKVISION Bullet Network security camera review can help you shop wisely. Share your thoughts with us below.